


Swan Song

by appleschloss



Category: Star Trek
Genre: AU, Chris is like Jim's Dad, Christopher has a crush on Winnona, F/M, Fluff and Angst, He calls her Winny, He won't admit he has a crush, M/M, Mentions of miscarriage, No Frank, Slow Build, Starfleet, Swan Song
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-13
Updated: 2015-09-01
Packaged: 2018-02-20 23:23:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2446886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/appleschloss/pseuds/appleschloss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A rare disease was discovered on stardate 2109.67 where a child was born mute without the signs of being mute in their genetics or brain functions. None of the cures for muteness worked on the child. Later on in their life, right before their death, the man spoke his first and last words to his wife right before he died. The condition was then labelled Carmen olor, or “Swan Song,” shortly after. On the stardate 2233.04, the 15960th contractor of this disease was born, James Tiberius Kirk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> So I would first like to explain how my Stardate system is going to work. From what I have read up on, it varies a lot between every series and set of movies and video games, so I am going to establish what makes the most sense to me and that is what I will be using. It’s pretty simple 2233.097 would be April 7th, 2233. The .97 represents the day of the year out of 365 and 2233 is the year. I know some are more complex than that but I didn't want it to be too crazy. 
> 
> This chapter is mainly a summary of a good chunk of the beginning of Jim's life for the majority of the story will take place while he is in Starfleet.
> 
> I apologize in advance for any and all mistakes or poor wording. I do not currently have a beta, but I wish to have one. I just don't know how to Goa bout getting one so if you know how to, or are a beta and you are interested, please contact me!

Medical Classification: Carmen olor “Swan Song”

Origin: ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓

Stardate of First Patient: 2109.67

Contracted Through: Recessive genes that cause a malfunction in the cerebral cortex, in the temporal lobe and partial parietal lobe. Not contagious.

History: Statistically shows up in approximately 1/1.0x10^6 children. Has been known to show up in species who lack the gene to begin with. Was thought to have been caused by radiation or carcinogens. Has not shown up in other species besides humans, despite some humans having bred with other species who had the condition themselves, the offspring were perfectly healthy and lacked any sign of the condition or gene.

Cure: No solid cure. Medical implants can be put in place to allow the patient to have more control over their vocal chords.Uses impulses from other sections of the brain to control the chords.  Isn’t always successful. Has a 64.72% success rate. The mind doesn’t always accept the implant and it will simply fail. Doesn’t always work on patients that do accept it. Fails sometimes and the patient’s speech can be limited or cut off at undeterminable intervals.

Number of Patients Diagnosed (as of 2233.04): 15960

\----

**Stardate: 2233.04**

Winona Kirk was not experiencing what one would call a “normal” labor. Her husband was currently on the bridge of the spaceship she was on: the U.S.S. Kelvin. An Aksani woman was encouraging her to breath and holding her hand as another contraction racked her body.

Or… was that the ship?

Winona’s eyes opened wide as she felt it again, the room rocked. Nurses were instantly at the comms, trying to figure out what was going on.

Over the white noise of the machines and shouting of the medical staff, Winona barely heard the loud voice coming in over the speakers.

“...repeat: evacuate ship and get to designated shuttles NOW.”

“That’s George’s voice,” Winona noted absentmindedly, but she became frantic rather quickly. “What’s happening?”

The Aksani woman took command. “We’re packing up, you’ll deliver in the shuttle.”

She was moved to a wheelchair and was rolling quickly down the hall, when her communicator went off. Winona smiled in relief and answered it. “George!”

“I have medical shuttle 37 standing by, get to it now. Can you do that?” he instructed, his voice commanding.

Winona nodded, despite the fact that her husband couldn’t see it. “Yes, where are you?”

There’s a pause. “I’m on my way.”

She sighed in relief as they took another corner. “Good. George, it’s coming, our baby. It’s coming now,” she told him frantically.

She feels the ship lurch a bit as she awaits his response. Finally, he replies. “I’ll see you in a minute sweetheart.”

The ship lurches again and WInona gasps, doubling over a bit as another contraction hits her. “Ahh! That was - That was a big one,” she groans. The nurses lift her up into the biobed on the shuttle. Winona grips the communicator even tighter, making sure it doesn’t fall. Even though he said he would be there soon, Winona felt she had to keep the link open. She needed to hear his voice. It made it feel like he was there.

“Just keep breathing honey,” the nurse soothed. “You’re going to be just fine-”

“The baby too right?” She pleaded, needing reassurance. After what had happened last time…

The nurse quelled her fears when she answered. “The baby too.”

Winona was about to speak when she realized the comm link had disconnected. She was about to call him back when the shuttle began to move forward, making her finger slip. Her eyes widened in panic. Just then, George called her back. She answered quickly, already beginning to speak before the link was fully established.

“The shuttle is leaving, where are you?”

“My love? Listen carefully, okay?” George soothed, though his voice was a little shaky.

“We’re about to have this baby -” she tried to continue, but he cut back in.

“Sweetheart..” he started, her voice stopping as she listed to him with bated breath. “I’m not going to be able to be there.”

Winona starts to shake her head. “No, no, no, no…” she whispered. She felt something wet roll down her cheek and she realized she was crying. “Wait -”

“I want you to hear me. Please,” he pleaded, but Winona wouldn’t have it.

“Are you still on the ship?”

“There's no other way-”

“No-”

“-my love-”

“- no, you need to be here-”

“You know all I want-”

“- George, I can’t do this without you -”

“-all I want in the world is to be with you-”

The tears are flowing freely now and a sob escapes from her. “Please - don’t do-” She gasps out in pain and the nurse butts in to her conversation as if her husband isn’t trying to say his last words to her.

“Okay, you need to push.”

Winona yelled and held the nurse’s hand firmly as she pushed. Her breathing was labored and it felt like forever until she was done and holding a baby boy in her arms. Her eyes were wet with tears, but for a different reason now. “It’s a boy…” she breathed in awe.

“A boy?”

George’s voice broke her out of her trance as he continued. “Tell me.. Tell me about him. Please,” his voice sounded desperate, on the verge of tears, but Winona wanted him to know about his child before he…

“He’s… He’s beautiful. He looks like you. George,” her voice was pleading now. “George, you should be here -”

“I know,” he cut in, but he moved on quickly from the topic. “What should we call him, huh?”

“We could name him after your father.”

“Tiberius? Are you kidding me? That’s the worst. We’ll name him after your dad- we’ll call him Jim.”

He said we like he was planning on being there, and for some reason that calmed Winona just a bit. “Jim… Jim it is.”

She was pulled out of her loving gaze again when George spoke.

“Sweetheart? Sweetheart, I love you. Can you hear me?” he asked, his voice desperate again, pleading for her to hear him.

Winona nodded once again without him seeing it. “Yes- Yes I hear you.”

“I love you. I love y-”

The link dies, leaving static in its wake as a bright light floods the compartment. Winona’s breath gets stuck in her throat as she watches the Kelvin explode out the window. She chokes and  looks down at the little bundle in her arms. The boy who has yet to cry.

As tears stream down her face, Winona sobs loudly. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t cry, as she cried enough for the both of them.

\----

**Stardate: 2238.124**

Jim was a happy kid. He loved exploring and causing trouble, as most five year olds did. Being on a starship provided him with plenty of opportunities to go on “adventures” as he liked to refer to them as, although those adventures weren’t always the safest for a boy of his age.

Right now, Jim was on one of those adventures. He had a map in his back pocket of every air vent he had gone through on the ship and he was looking to add to it.

Most people would say that the air vents of a starship were no place for a five year old, but Jim didn’t. Sure, they were hard to maneuver through due to the sharp twists and drops, but they weren’t unsafe necessarily. Jim whistled to himself as he headed along, stopping to sketch every once in a while.

Right now, according to his map, he should be over the science labs. He moved around until he found an opening to look through to confirm his location. He sat down and noted the location on his map, using the light from the hole to help him.

“Jim!”

The five year old’s eyes widened and he looked down. A friend of his mom, a science officer, was looking up at him.

“Jim get down from there, your mother has been worried sick about you,” she scolded and Jim ducked his head a bit. He contemplated moving on but knew it would only upset his mother more. He sighed and got out his electric screwdriver, opening the grate with practiced ease before hopping down as if the ten foot drop was nothing.

Jim blinked up at the officer once. She quickly scooped him up and Jim simply relaxed as he was carried back to his mother’s station. Being babied like this was nothing new to him, it happened all of the time. It didn’t mean he liked it, but he was used to it.

His mother was on the bridge, taking her shift, and that’s where they were headed now. Before they reached the bridge, though, they ran into Chris Pike.

Chris was wearing his red Starfleet shirt as he jogs over to the science officer holding him. “Jim! Where were you? We’ve been looking for you for almost an hour!”

Jim reached out for Chris, who simply raised an eyebrow at him. “You are a big boy, you can walk. Now answer the question.”

As he was set down, Jim moved his hands rapidly. Chris just watched him with a nod and a sigh. “You know your mother doesn’t like you crawling through the vents. You could get trapped, or hurt.”

“It’s not that dangerous,” Jim argued, hands still moving quickly, his face scrunched up in frustration.

“It is so and you know it. There are sudden drops and fans. I appreciate your love of exploring, but…” Chris looked around, hesitantly. He looked back at Jim and his voice dropped down to a quieter volume. “Look, we’re going on the surface of Nyria III tomorrow, for exploration and treaty purposes, and you can come with us if you behave for the rest of the day, alright?”

Jim beamed widely as they stepped on to the bridge, nodding enthusiastically.

Chris grinned and ruffled his hair just as Winona rushed over to them.

“Oh Jim you’re okay!” she gushed, squatting down and holding him close. She pulled back after a second though, obviously angry. “What on earth were you thinking, running off like that? You know it’s not safe for you to be alone. What if you got hurt and you couldn’t call out to anybody? What if-”

Jim patted her cheek and gave her a peck and she sighed, hugging him again, but more gently this time. “Next time you do something like this, you’re in serious trouble young man.”

That was the third time she had said that this week, but Jim didn’t really look at it that way. It wasn’t like he wanted to make his mom upset, he always had good intentions, it was just that the things he did he never saw as wrong, but his mom did.

Winona stood up, holding her boy in her arms. Her eyes were on Chris, though. “Where was he?”

“Air vents,” he said simply, hands in his pockets. Winona sighed and shook her head. She stuck a hand in Jim’s pockets and handed the screwdriver to Chris. “Could you hide it better this time?”

Chris nodded and Jim just turned and smiled at them. Chris winked at him and the boy beamed wider before turning back and nuzzling into his mother’s neck. Winona smiled and turned her head to kiss the side of Jim’s before walking back over to her station.

\----

**Stardate: 2243.268**

Jim felt a bead of sweat slide down his cheek as he glared at the man in front of him, the man whose opinion usually meant so much to him.

“Jim, you’re being ridiculous -”

“Why should I have to get a stupid machine in my head for the sake of other people? The people that matter known what I am saying!” Jim signed furiously, a scowl and furrowed eyebrows taking the place of his normally happy expresison.

“It’s logical Jim -” Chris started to argue when Jim stomped his foot to cut him off.

“Don’t ‘it’s logical’ me! Just because we’re on Vulcan, doesn’t mean you have to act like a -” Jim would’ve been growling if he could.

“You’re acting like a spoiled child Jim! You need to realize how much this will help you!” Chris snapped. He was glowering now, his body tense but leaning in towards Jim.

“You’re not my dad! You can’t make me!”

Chris’s body stiffened. “You’re right. I’m not your dad. Guess that means I can’t care either, right?” He crossed his arms over his chest. He holds up his hand. “You need to think about this and you’re not taking it as seriously as you need to be.” He reached his hand out and took Jim’s PADD from him. The boy gaped at him in open shock. “I already spoke with your mother about this. You can have this back at the end of the day, when you’ve thought rationally about this.”

With that, Chris turned and left. Jim glared at his back and stuck his tongue out at the man. The second Chris was out of sight, Jim turned on his heel and started walking towards the edge of ShiKahr. The shuttle from their ship had landed near the VSA. The ship’s mission had been to bring ambassadors from Earth to here for a meeting with the High Council. Jim had heard his mom and Pike talking about it during lunch while he had been on his PADD.

His mom had told him she would take him sight-seeing later this week. Jim loved exploring every new planet they visited. He had been reading and taking noted about different cultures since he could read and write, he just found it to be so interesting. Going to see all of these places he had only read about, in person, was amazing.

Jim didn’t want to wait for his mom to take him out this time, though. He was too angry to go back to the shuttle and he needed to blow off steam.

The city’s skyline was gorgeous. The brown buildings against the yellow sky was a bit disconcerting, but the architecture shone through, sharp edges standing out as if they were black lines on white paper.

The young boy walked into the city, the tall buildings slowly encasing him. He looked up in awe at the structures above him. Vulcans were walking around him everywhere. He must have stood out like a sore thumb, blonde hair amongst a city of black, a white hoodie in sea of dark robes.

Jim knew he stood out when he spotted the first pair of eyes on him. He quickly noticed another pair, and another, and another… Every Vulcan paused for a moment, breaking their perfect stride, to look at him. Jim tucked his head against his chest and flipped his hood up. His eyes stayed up, though, so he could still observe while trying to stop being observed.

All of the buildings were prominently labelled, in Vulcan. Luckily, Jim had been reading up on the Vulcan language when he found out they were coming here and staying for longer than they normally stay on a planet.

A few of the buildings didn’t translate well, from what he’d read, but finally he found which building he was looking for: shi'dunap, the library.

Jim took the steps two at a time, making sure to swerve just a bit in order to not brush shoulders with any of the Vulcans also on the stairs. There weren’t any doors, only an archway into the building. Jim did note the metal rim around the opening, though. He paused and looked over them once. They were obviously force field generators. He nodded to himself as he walked inside. Vulcan was known for its sandstorms and those would help keep the sand out.

The blonde boy sucked in a sharp breath, causing more heads to turn, but this time he didn’t care. The inside of the building was stunning. The architecture was very spiral-centric, and it created a wonderful atmosphere. Bookshelves climbed up walls alongside windows and walkways. Jim grinned widely when he noted how many hard copies the building kept. He loved books, the paper kind. He had a few himself and he treasured them all. The books were only in one section, though. The rest of the shelves contained chips, hundreds of thousands of chips. He could tell that the library was more for study and education than it was anything else. Small tables surrounded by cushions were in the main area, but Jim could see other forms of seating in other parts of the building as well and a good portion of the spots were occupied by Vulcans who were engrossed in their PADDs.

Jim’s feet moved of their own accord, pulling him forward further into the building. As his head tilted up further so he could fully take in the stock that the library held, his hood slipped off and thudded softly against his back.

Blue eyes flipped about excitedly as he watched small machines, attached to two beams, one vertical and one horizontal, zoom over the bookshelves. They plucked things smoothly out of place and brought them down to the bottom for whichever Vulcan requested them. Despite the fact that there were at least seven per bookshelf, one never ran into the other, and no Vulcan was ever left waiting in line to use a machine. The species was known for its order, but it still amazed Jim to experience it first hand.

Grey tennis shoes still shuffled along the clay floor without their owner looking at where they were going. It wasn’t long before they hit something the owner didn’t want them to hit.

Jim grunted and stumbled back, falling onto his butt when he collided with something rather solid. He heard the successive sound of three books hitting the floor before he noticed that he had run into a boy.

Dark hair fell down a pale face as the young Vulcan squatted in order to pick up his books. Jim scrambled to his feet, wanting to help him, and ended up reaching for the third book at the same time. Brown eyes snapped up to meet blue and the two looked at each other for a second before Jim relinquished his hold on the book so the boy could take it into his arms.

“One should be more aware of his surroundings,” the boy told him simply. Jim stood up and brushed himself off. He wanted to apologize, he really did, but he didn’t know how to. The boy didn’t know sign language, and he didn’t have a PADD to write on.

Jim rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and gave a shrug. The boy tilted his head to the right just slightly, one of his eyebrows crooking upward.

“You are a human, are you not?” he asked after a brief pause. Jim nodded, standing more upright, hands clasped behind his back as the boy appraised him. “What, may I ask, are you doing on Vulcan? We are not a tourist planet, nor are children allotted on Starfleet regulation vessels. Seeing as one is orbiting our planet currently, and one of its’ shuttles on our surface, it is logical to assume that this is where you originate from, is it not?” Jim nodded again and the boy continued. “Then I must ask a follow up question, why are you on a Starfleet vessel?”

Jim flushed a bit when the pause between them grew awkward. He noticed a table with screens on it and walked over to it, gesturing for the Vulcan to follow. He pressed a button and the glass popped up. Jim quickly began to mess around on it until he got to a typing feature.

_“My Mom is a Starfleet officer.”_

The boy looked intrigued now, but his eyebrows were furrowed. “That does not-” he started to argue when Jim started typing again.

_“I have no Dad. Starfleet made an exception. I’ve been in space since I was a baby.”_

The Vulcan’s head tilted the other way just slightly. Jim looked at him before sitting down in front of his screen. _“My name is Jim by the way.”_

“Greetings Jim. Might I inquire as to why you are not verbalizing these answers? You have already noted that I speak Standard, as you are typing in Standard. The only logical conclusion is that you have the inability to use your vocal chords at this moment. Is that true?”

Jim sighed. _“You know, most people, when given someone’s name, offer their own name in return. I am not speaking because I am mute.”_

“I apologize for this err. My name is S'chn T'gai Spock. Why have you not undergone surgery to have this flaw righted?” the boy continued.

_“Why don’t you sit down? It’s hard to look up like this.”_ Jim replied, not answering the question. The Vulcan blinked at him once before fluidly sitting beside him. He looked utterly graceful when doing it and Jim couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose slightly in jealousy.

_“Can I just call you Spock? I don’t know if I would be able to accurately type out your other two names.”_

Spock nodded at him. “That would be agreeable. You have yet to answer my most recent inquiry.”

Jim huffed before quickly typing. _“I never got the initial surgery because it has only a 60% chance of working and my mother didn’t want to take that risk. I haven’t gotten an ELV yet because I don’t want one.”_

Spock looked confused. “Why would you not desire to get an External Lingual Verbalizer? It is only logical if you desire to communicate with others, such as myself. If you had such a device, there would have been no prior confusion during our conversation.”

_“I also might not be having a conversation with you right now if I had been able to just apologize and move on,”_ Jim argued.

Spock nodded once. “That is a logical assumption, but your reasoning behind not getting an External Lingual Verbalizer is still highly illogical. There is no risk when going through the surgery for an External Lingual-”

_“Could you just call it an ELV please? External Lingual, whatever, is such a mouthful,”_ Jim butt in.

“I do not see the logic in not referring to the device by its’ proper name. I will concede though,” Spock noted. “The success rate of having an ELV implanted is 100%. Not being able to properly communicate with others has no upside to it as the leading of your life would be highly hindered by this fact alone. Therefore, there is no logical reason not to get an ELV. The possibilities of having or not having this current discussion with me due to you not having an ELV is irrelevant for your future as well, as the statistical likelihood of us meeting again after this date is 0.0035%.”

Jim scowled when he realized how right Spock was. He didn’t want to concede, for he was still mad at Pike for yelling at him, but he knew he was going to.

“Though I have not been able to accurately study humans for most of my life, the expression on your face is visually similar to an expression my mother makes on occasion when she is angered. Have I said something to anger you Jim?” Spock asked.

Jim shook his head. _“No, I am just mad at someone else who was trying to convince me to get an ELV. They were being a butt head about it… but I guess so was I.”_

“While you did answer my inquiry, the situation of which you speak is one of which I am unfamiliar. I do not see how one could be a ‘butt head’ as the two sections of the human body reside in entirely different locations-” Spock started, but he stopped when he heard a wheeze. Jim had a wide grin on his face and was doubled over a bit. Again, his actions were similar to those of his mother’s on past occasions.

“... Are you laughing?” Spock hadn’t meant his question to sound so surprised, but Jim didn’t seem to think anything of it. Instead, he nodded quickly before typing out a response.

_“Yes, sorry, it’s just the way you said that. ‘Butt head’ is an expression of sorts. It means,”_ Jim paused to think before continuing his typing. _“It means I think he was being stubborn and stupid.”_ Jim looked up at him when he was done, grinning widely.

Spock was about to comment on the nature of this expression when he heard a familiar voice carry through the quiet library.

“Spock.”

Jim looked toward the voice with interest in his eyes. Spock held in a sigh, a trait he had learned from his mother. He had told his mother on multiple occasions to use her PADD to contact him when they split up on days out, and while she always told him she would, 75% of the time she would call out instead of sending him a message. He did not see this as a lie on her part, merely a preference of means of communicating.

The woman in question had just spotted them. She noted Jim’s blonde hair with a slight widening of her eyes, but she smoothed over her expression as she approached the table.

Jim shifted in his seat as an elegant woman strode over to their table. He could only guess by the way she looked at Spock and him, as well as by the way she had called Spock’s name earlier, that she was probably his mother. He was surprised, though, to note the slight flush in her cheeks. It was distinctly pink and not green in tint. He then recalled Spock mentioning emotions when he referred to his mother. Was she human then?

She looked him over briefly before smiling at him. “Hello, I am Spock’s mother. May I ask who you are?”

Jim was about to move to type and answer when Spock answered for him.

“This is Jim. He is here with the Starship, which his mother is on. He is mute and thenceforth unable to verbally answer any questions you might have.” He told his mother as he stood up, just as gracefully as when he sat down. His robes didn’t even wrinkle awkwardly when he moved.

Jim made a slight face. Spock sure was blunt about his answer.

His mother didn’t seem at all phased by it though. She simply nodded, though he could see the surprise in her eyes. She looked back at Jim and smiled very subtly. “It is nice to meet you Jim. Might I ask what you are doing in town alone, without a communicator or PADD with you?”

Oh she was good. Jim flushed and rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact.

“Jim, does your mother know you are here?” Spock’s mom asked, her tone firm, yet knowing.

Jim bit his lower lip and slowly looked back at her. He shook his head slowly and Spock tilted his head in response to finding out this information.

“I was unaware of this ko-mekh,” Spock told her. It sounded like an apology without Spock outright saying he was sorry.

Spock’s mother held up a hand to him, but not a reprimanding one. “You are not at fault Spock,” she told him before looking back at Jim. “Your mother must be worried sick about you. I know I would be.. if Spock were to wander off without any means of communication on him.” She had paused mid sentence, as if rearranging her wording, but her thought still flowed smoothly, despite the pause.

Spock flushed very subtly at her admission, which made Jim chuckle. Spock’s mother cleared her throat, though, and Jim was instantly silent again, his head tilted down in shame at her stern gaze.

“I am going to take you back to her, if you don’t mind,” she said, though her tone left no room for argument. Jim nodded and stood up. She nodded with a smile before looking at Spock. “Are you ready to go then?”

Spock nodded. “Yes ko-mekh.”

Spock’s mom nodded once before turning on her heel and heading out the door. Jim hurried to keep up as Spock fell in place behind her. It was only when they had gotten outside that he realized exactly how hot he was. The air was dry and the temperature was sweltering. Inside of the building, protected from the sun, it had been perhaps two degrees cooler, but outside, unprotected, Jim started to sweat near immediately. He was astounded when he realized Spock’s mother wasn’t sweating at all, and she had on many more layers than he. He didn’t focus on it too long, though, as she paused to fall back beside Jim.

“Is your mother with the shuttle that is at the Vulcan Science Academy right now?” she asked him and Jim nodded. “Very well, we shall take a different mode of transportation then.”

She stopped beside a hovercraft and opened the door. Spock slide in smoothly and the two waited for Jim to climb in as well. Only when the vehicle started moving did Jim realize exactly how far he had travelled to get into the city. His anger at the time must have given him fuel, for he was sure he would not have made the trek back without dying from heat stroke.

The drive was only five minutes long, and no one spoke during it. Jim was content with looking out the window, watching the red sand whiz by as they grew nearer to the shuttle and farther from the city. He was anxious over returning, fearing his mother’s reaction, and also being still upset with Pike and not wanting to see him. Sure, he had already decided that Pike was right about him getting an ELV, but that didn’t mean he was ready to admit that to him just yet.

The shuttle slowed to a gentle stop before the doors swung open. Spock and his mother stepped out, but Jim hesitated. Spock’s mom gave him a pointed look, and Jim sighed before following them.

Just as the three of them were nearing the doors of the Vulcan Science Academy, Winona rushed out and over to them.

“Jim! My god are you okay?” she asked as she cupped his face in her hand. Jim wrinkled his nose at her motherly display of affection and tugged away a bit. The concerned look on her face instantly shifted to an angry one. “What on earth were you thinking, running off without a comm? You’ve been gone for nearly two hours, I was worried sick, and Chris was too!”

_“I was angry, and it’s not like Vulcan is a dangerous place. I was perfectly fine. I went to the library.”_ He told her, his hands flying rapidly in front of him.

Jim was aware of the eyes on him as he communicated with his mother. He dared to look over his shoulder and caught Spock looking at him with parted lips and furrowed eyebrows. He swore he heard him mutter “Fascinating..” under his breath, but it was too faint to be sure.

“It’s still not a good reason to run off Jim,” she scolded him. Then, as if remembering there were others there, Winona looked up. “Thank you so much for bringing him back here. I can’t thank you enough, honestly.”

Spock’s mom smiled at her. “It’s not a problem at all. I would wish for someone to do the same, would the situations be reversed.”

Winona nodded and held out a hand. “I’m Winona, by the way.”

“I’m Amanda,” Spock’s mom replied, shaking her hand back. The two smiled and began to chat about what Winona was doing here and how Amanda how wound up on Vulcan. Jim took a step back, glancing at Spock, when another pair of footsteps came over to them.

Jim looked over and saw Chris. He wanted to scowl, wanted to stay angry, but he found that he couldn’t. He knew he had been stupid and he was ready to apologize for it.

Chris paused in front of Jim, looking like he wanted to hug him, but held back. He opened his mouth with Jim cut it.

_“I’m sorry for acting stupid. You were right. I’ve decided I do want to get an ELV.”_

Chris’s eyes widened at the admission. Jim could feel the Vulcan boy’s eyes on him, but he ignored it, looking solely at Chris.

The man smiled at Jim and clapped a hand onto his shoulder before bringing him into a hug. “It’s alright, kid, I forgive you. We’re all stupid sometimes, and I could’ve been a bit less hot headed about it.” He pulled back and looked at Jim. “You shouldn’t run off like that, though. What if a sandstorm had hit, or if we needed to leave suddenly due to an emergency? We wouldn’t have been able to contact you.”

_“You took my PADD.”_ Jim pointed out and Chris raised an eyebrow at him, shaking his head.

“Don’t go blaming this on me. You could’ve brought your comm- being angry is no excuse,” he interjected, not letting Jim speak for he knew what the boy was going to say.

Jim huffed and looked away. _“But nothing happened. I was fine.”_

Chris shook his head. “That’s not the point and you know it,” he glanced at their company and sighed, leaning in to whisper in Jim’s ear. “We’ll talk about this later.”

Jim watched as Chris stepped around him to talk to Amanda. He knew he was going to get in trouble for storming off like he did, but he knew neither his mom or Chris was mad at him anymore. Now the only thing he had to do was discuss with them what type of ELV he wanted. He was actually a bit excited about it, now. He would be able to talk. Jim fidgeted a bit, the corner’s of his mouth twitching up into a grin. His eyes looked over at the Vulcan boy, who was still observing him. Even though he knew his mom and Chris wouldn’t see it this way, he was glad he had run off. If he hadn’t ran into Spock, he might not have changed his mind so quickly. He had always believed in the say “Everything happens for a reason,” or, as they would say on Vulcan, “Kaiidth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't really intend for him meeting Spock to be a huge ordeal, I thought of it as I was going along. It's not going to be a pivotal point in the story either, just a coincidence, plus it helped him make his decision on whether or not to get the ELV.
> 
> I feel like the ending was very abrupt, but I didn't want it to drag on. Anything more would have been unnecessary details and unimportant scenes, but I just couldn't find the right way to end this chapter. I do hope you like it, though.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it! All comments will be sincerely appreciated. This story has been cooking in my head for over six months now but I wanted to have a solid grasp on it before I posted anything. I'm glad I waited because my work has changed a lot, into something I am far more pleased with, over these months. I am a tad bit busy with school, but now that I've finally gotten the ball rolling on this, updates shouldn't take too long, but kudos, comments, and bookmarks definitely wouldn't slow the process!
> 
> Also - Note on the Aksani woman. I just chose a race that didn't have a legit description in the StarTrek database. She didn't have a distinct race in the movie, not one that was note anyways. Aksani is a humanoid race so I chose it. If anyone knows what race she actually was, please share and I will gladly change it.


	2. Move-In Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With an ELV- it’s all about language. It can translate sounds, so words and groans, most of the time, but not laughs or tunes. So no singing or laughing. Jim can laugh a bit on his own, but it's breathier than anything else. He can whistle without the ELV, but not humming. I’ve tried to put a lot of research into this, but I’m not perfect. He is mute, not deaf, so if you know anything about that and you find anything I write as inaccurate, please tell me and I will fix it to the best of my ability.

**Stardate: 2250.243**

Jim sighed as his mother straightened his hair for the tenth time. “Mom, I look fine, let me go.”

Winona pulled back but she waved a hand as she did. “I know, I know, it’s just so exciting, you being accepted at such a young age,” she gushed. “I mean, you’re only seventeen and you’re going to be living in a dorm on your own. I’m going to be on planet for three months so-”

“Moomm, Chris is on campus now, so you don’t have to worry about me. I can handle myself.” Jim grinned suddenly, a sly look on his face. “Remember that one time, when we were visiting Finnea Prime-”

“Don’t. Remind me,” she scolded and Jim simply grinned wider.

“Mom.”

Winona looked back at Jim when he spoke. He put his hand on her shoulder before continuing. His expression was more serious now, but his gaze was fond. “I’m going to be fine.”

Dark blue eyes filled up quickly with water as Winona launched herself at Jim, wrapping her arms firmly around Jim’s waist. The boy was not shocked by this display of affection and simply wrapped his arms around her as well, patting his mother on the back when he did.

“Chris should be meeting with you after orientation, I have some things to do but we will be having lunch together and then I will be helping you move into your dorm afterwards,” Winona told him as she slowly pulled back. Her voice was commanding even though she was still wiping tears from her eyes.

Jim nodded. “Okay Mom. I really should go now.”

Winona nodded and patted his chest. “Of course.” She looked up at him. “Are you sure you don’t need a ride?”

“I’m sure,” Jim said with a smile. He leaned in and kissed his mom on the forehead. “All of my stuff is already in the car, so you just need to drive over later. You don’t have to worry about packing anything. I’ll contact you, okay?”

“Okay,” she nodded again, this time a bit absentmindedly. “You have your coat, and your schedule, and your PADD-” she started to stammer.

“Yes, yes,” Jim cut in. “I have it all.” He reassured her, and she nodded again.

“Alright, go on then. I wouldn’t want you to be late,” she sighed while ushering him out the door.

Jim grinned and headed over to the exit. He looked over his shoulder at her and called, “Bye Mom.”

Winona waved him off until the door closed behind him.

Starfleet was about five blocks from where his mother was staying. The set of apartments she was in were reserved for ‘fleet members that had down time on planet. It was nice to have her so close, but at the same time she was probably going to drop in quite often, which wasn’t ideal.

It took him about five minutes to get on to campus. He looked around and saw other red uniforms trickling on to campus. Classes started tomorrow, so he assumed the majority of the people he was seeing were freshmen like him.

A month prior to orientation, the accepted students received a communication to confirm their accommodations in the dorms, as well as inquire on uniform measurements. Then, one week ago, each student received an individualized replicator code to have their uniforms made. It lasted one semester, and then they had to buy a new one.

Jim held his satchel closer to him as he headed towards the auditorium. He walked in through the double doors and stopped a few feet in.

The large room was filled to the brim with thousands of chairs. They curved subtly around the stage, which also had chairs on it, as well as a microphone front and center. Jim noticed a handful of students already seated. Jim looked around uncertainly. He wanted a seat towards the front, but he wasn’t sure if there was assigned seating or not.

“Jim!”

The blonde boy turned around and was instantly relieved to see Chris coming over to him. He smiled widely as the older man clapped him on the shoulder.

“Are you excited for orientation?” he asked, giving Jim’s shoulder a squeeze before pulling his hand away.

Jim nodded. “Yeah. So is there assigned seating for this or can I sit anywhere I want to?”

Chris shook his head and chuckled. “Always worried about the small things aren’t you? Wouldn’t want to get in trouble on our first day, would you?”

Jim rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah… whatever,” he agreed nonchalantly. His eyes shifted back up to meet Chris’s. “So, is  there or isn’t there?”

“There isn’t,” he said with a shake of his head. “You can sit wherever you want to. You know your CID and Password right?” Jim nodded and Chris smiled fondly. “Of course you do. I bet you had it memorized within a few days.”

“Oh come on, you know me better than that,” Jim chided. “I had it down by the end of the night.”

“Of course, of course,” Chris said with a nod, still smiling. He looked behind Jim at the other students slowly filed in. “You better go before every seat in the front row is grabbed up by all of the other eager beavers.” His grin became more wicked and Jim smacked him on the shoulder.

“Oh shut up,” Jim groaned, but he was smiling as well. He turned to walk away, when Chris called after him.

“Nerd!”

Jim turned his head to look over his shoulder so he could stick his tongue out at Chris, when he suddenly bumped into something. The air was forced out of him as he stumbled backwards, hands reeling in order to steady himself the best he could.

When Jim was finally balanced again, he looked up and saw brown eyes staring at him.

The second Jim recognized the being as sentient, he started to apologize.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going," he babbled, eyes taking in the pale complexion. "I was just trying to get to my seat and-" The being in front of him was obviously a male. "-and I didn't mean to look away." Pointed ears gave the man away as Vulcan, alongside the fact that he had an emerald hue about his skin. If that didn't do it, though, his facial expressions did. God he probably sounded like a babbling idiot. He offered his hand up in a ta'al. "I know this isn't very relevant, but my name is Jim."

He must have baffled the Vulcan with his erratic behavior, if the slow blink he received in reply was anything to go by. The Vulcan's hesitance only lasted a second, though, before he offered up the ta'al in return. "Greetings Jim, my name is Spock.” He put his hand down, clasping them behind his back. “It is illogical for you to offer up an apology for something that was clearly an accident. I accept it, nonetheless.”

Jim nodded and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Thanks, um, yeah,” he babbled, head down cast. “So... I know we just met, but is there any chance you would like to sit with me?” He tilted his head toward a seat. “I had planned on sitting up front, near the middle. I don’t like not being able to see, but I was probably going to end up on my own anyways…” He looked away as he trailed off, sure that Spock would say no. He didn’t mind, really, he just thought he’d ask. His eyes had already started to look around the Vulcan for an open seat when Spock responded.

“I would not be impartial to that suggestion.”

Jim’s eyes snapped back to look at Spock, shock evident on his face. “Oh, okay cool,” he stammered. He quickly grinned, trying to play off his obvious surprise as intentional. “So.. did you have a seat in mind?” he asked, not wanting to lead them over to a seat and Spock not want to sit there. He realized he shouldn’t care if Spock didn’t like the seat he chose, but now that he had the possibility of sitting with someone and perhaps making an acquaintance on the first day, he didn’t want to let it slip away. Vulcan’s have always interested him, ever since he was young, so Spock was intriguing to him already.

“The seating that you described 1.24 minutes prior to this is a desirable location,” Spock replied monotonously.

Jim nodded. “Okay,” he said, not sure why he even bothered with a reply. Nodding and replying was probably illogical. He stepped around Spock and headed over to the seat he had originally picked out. He glanced behind him once before sitting, watching as Spock fluidly followed him. The way he walked made it look like he was gliding across the floor, and it looked effortless. There was no stutter in his step, or break, as one foot slid in front of the other.

He sat down just as gracefully, not jarring himself as his knees bent swiftly in order to sit down with just the right trajectory.

Jim glanced at Spock and wondered if Vulcan’s made small talk. He shrugged to himself before speaking. "So, what city on Vulcan are you from?"

Spock glanced over at Jim, giving him another slow blink as he had done earlier. "My family owned two places of residence. The one I mainly resided in was located in Shi'Khar."

Jim nodded. "I've visited there once. It's gorgeous. What made you want to join Starfleet?"

"That is a very personal query," Spock noted, and he didn't say anything else about it. Jim shrugged and looked like he was about to say something else when suddenly he heard a man clear his throat. He blinked and looked around, surprised by how full the auditorium was. He checked his watch and realized it was 0900, the time at which the ceremony was supposed to start. He looked at Spock, who was now focused on the man on the stage. Jim sighed and turned forward as well, listening attentively as the man began to speak.

"My name is admiral Nanette," he began. "On behalf of the admirals and other members of starlet, I bid you welcome. This is the mark of the beginning of your career with Starfleet. For some of you this may mean deep space travel and exploration. For others, you may discover new species or help build starships right here on Earth. Starfleet is a very diverse program which can open up a wider variety of opportunities for people such as yourselves."

Jim listened attentively as the speech went on. The Admirals switched as the topics did, discussing conduct, dorms, schedules, and other things. He pulled out his school assigned PADD from under his seat as the assembly drew to a close. His fingers worked quickly as he flipped through the various bits of information such as his class schedule and who would be assigned as his roommate. He checked the time, still remaining in his seat as students began to file out. He had a while before he was to meet up with his Mom and Chris, so he definitely had time to run through his schedule and explore campus a bit.

“So, Spock,” Jim started, looking up from his PADD to the left of him, “Would…” the words died on his lips as he realized his sitting companion was already vacant. He sighed and shook his head, not really upset, or surprised. He stood up after a beat, and slowly made his way out the door. The blonde squinted in the harsh light, raising a hand up to shield his eyes as he looked around for Chris, who was supposed to meet him here.

He spotted the man just as Chris spotted him. He smiled and Jim waved as he came over.

"So how did orientation go? Are you excited?" Pike asked Jim as they moved to stand away from the crowd.

Jim let out his grin slowly, his cheeks dimpling as he clutched his PADD excitedly to his chest. "It went well. I mean the speeches weren't the most enticing thing ever, but they got me excited nonetheless. I haven't looked at my class schedule yet, though."

Pike laughed. "Well what are you waiting for? I know you're dying to know. And I can't exactly give you a tour of campus, and show you your classes, if you don't know what your classes are."

The boy pulled his PADD away from his chest and hurriedly opened his schedule. His eyes flicked over it quickly, taking in what the information said. Pike peered over to catch a glance at it as well.

PIke leaned back after a glance, but Jim kept looking. He chuckled. "Do you have it memorized yet?"

Jim blinked and kept looking at the screen. "Almost..." he replied absentmindedly. Pike laughed and patted him on the shoulder, making the boy look up at him and grin.

"Come on, let me show you around."

Chris turned and Jim quickly matched his stride, following him around campus. The grounds were still buzzing with life as many other freshman looked around as well. Chris began to rattle off the names of various buildings as they went.

"... and over there is the main Science Lab building. Lots of cool stuff in there. Good resources too. You can sign up for a lab for a certain amount of time whenever you want to, as long as the slots not already filled, obviously.... Your Calculus II class should be in the building over here, who did it say your teacher was again...? Oh, yes, Professor Hardell is a good teacher, and she is in this building so this is where your math will be. Come on, I'll show you around inside."

And that was how most of their morning went. Jim easily remembered where his various classes were. He was glad he did this now, since he managed to be introduced to a few of his professors before hand via Chris, and it made him feel better about his first day.

By the time they had gone through his whole schedule, and almost all of campus, it was nearing lunch time.

"We should probably go meet up with Mom now," Jim interjected in the middle of Pike spiel about the quads. He stopped and glanced at his communicator.

"Oh, you're right, we should probably be going. Don't want to keep Winny waiting," he agreed. He turned on his heel and Jim fell in step beside him.

The place they were going for lunch wasn’t far off campus. Jim had pointed it out when they had first gotten back into town. It was a restaurant that advertised serving a variety of dishes from different species. Jim had always liked trying new foods from other plants, so they had agreed to eat there today.

When they arrived, Winona was already there, seated at a table. She smiled at them and waved them over. Jim took a seat across from his mom while Chris took a seat next to her.

“Have you ordered yet?” Chris asked as he flicked through the PADD on the table, which featured the menu.

“No, I just got here a little bit ago. I did order us all waters, though.”

Jim picked up the other PADD there and began to look through as well. The dishes were sorted by planet and meal. They explained the dishes in standard as well as in the language of the species it was native to. Jim found it interesting that there were slight differences in the dishes description in the other languages.

He ended up deciding on an Orion dish that looked interesting, after making sure that there wasn’t anything in it that he was allergic to. Luckily, you could select the dishes and see them as well as their ingredients from the menu.

They placed their orders and a server took their PADDs.

“So, how was orientation?” Winona asked him, smiling.

Jim grinned. “It was good. My classes are timed rather well, so I have a nice amount of time between them, and I don’t have to get up too early. I’m really excited. I know a few are classes that are for upper classmen but it’ll be a good challenge, probably. You know I’m leaning towards Command, but I think I might try and get a degree in Engineering too. It’ll be handy to have both under my belt and with all of the credits I already have from the classes I took on the different bases, I don’t think it’ll take more than five years. I’ll start piling on more classes next trimester.”

“Don’t overload your schedule too much, Jim,” Chris chided lightly.

Jim waved him off as he took a sip of his water. “I can handle anything. I had already known I would complete Command in three years. Some of the classes for Engineering could overlap with Command so that cuts my time down, and any Gen Eds I’ll already be taking, or have taken, anyways. Easy peasy.”

Winona put her hand on top of his. “I know you’ll do great at whatever you do sweetie.”

Jim flushed a little and looked away. “…I am a little worried about being a bit younger…”

“You’ll do fine. The age range here is still very varied,” Chris reassured him. “I’m sure you’ll find some people who are in a few of your classes that you get along with. You don’t have to get along with everybody. And if nothing else, I’ll threaten them to be your friend,” he joked and Jim just glared at him.

“Yeah, like that will help,” he retorted, rolling his eyes good naturedly.

After that they kept talking about the things Jim would need for school, Winona fretted, asking more questions than Jim did. Chris reassured her that he knew what Jim needed and that they had it all, and that if he needed anything else, he’d find out on his first day.

Their food arrived and their conversations quieted down. Jim thought about his classes as he ate. He was also curious as to who his roommate would be. He glanced at his clock. He knew they’d have to run back to the house to get his boxes before they went back to campus. It wouldn’t take too, long though. He just wanted to make sure he’d have time to look around campus, by himself, once before it got dark, to make sure he knew for sure where his classes were. Then, he’d be on his own, sleeping by himself in his dorm for the first time.

He was definitely nervous.

Jim kept thinking about all of this, still absentmindedly eating, until he brought an empty fork into his mouth. He blinked and came out of his daze to Chris’s laughter.

“You were really out of it,” he chuckled. He smiled while still looking concerned. “Doing a lot of thinking about school starting?”

Jim nodded. “Yeah, you could say that,” he replied simply. He glanced at Chris and his mother’s plates and noticed they were done eating as well. “Are we going to go move into my dorm now..?”

Winona smiled, but she looked a little sad. “When did you grow up Jimmy? It feels like only yesterday when Chris was pulling you out of the air ducts,” she cooed.

“Mooommm…” Jim groaned as they all stood up and headed out of the restaurant.

The three of them walked back to the apartment and headed into Jim’s room where all of his boxes were. He had one filled with school supplies, another with clothes, one with souvenirs and memories from the multitude of planets he’d visited growing up, and the last was filled with various things for his new dorm, like bedding and hygienic supplies.

He hadn’t been sure, when packing his boxes the nights before, if he had wanted to bring all of his souvenirs or not. He loved all of them, but was afraid of them being broken or stolen if he kept every single one in his dorm. Plus, he knew he had to move out at the end of the year, for sure, and could even move out at the end of the trimester if he wanted to, so he didn’t want to have them all boxed up again so quickly. His mom lived near by and he had a room here already so in the end he decided to just bring some of his most important memoirs, like a jar of sand from Vulcan, a gem from Rigel II, his favorite multi-tool given to him by an Orion, some pictures, and a scale model of the ship he grew up on.

“So are these the only boxes we are taking then?” Chris asked and Jim nodded.

“I’m going to leave a lot of things here since Mom is so close and I can just come back if I need anything,” he explained.

Chris nodded before picking up a box. Jim instantly went for the one that had his souvenirs in them, wanting to be the one responsible for them. Chris picked up another, making sure to leave Winona with the lightest one.

“Should we just take the hover car?” she asked them, glancing over the amount of boxes they were holding. It wasn’t a long walk to campus, but with this many things to carry, it wouldn’t be a short walk either.

The two boys looked at each other and shrugged and nodded.

Winona smiled. “I’ll bring the car around.”

“So,” Chris started as he and Jim slowly made their way downstairs and outside, “are you excited?”

“Yeah… I am. I’m excited for my classes,” he admitted.

“But what about everything else?” Chris coaxed.

Jim licked his lips and didn’t answer for a beat. “... The thought of staying on my own tonight, even though you guys are so close, and having a roommate I don’t know, being expected to suddenly be a fully functioning adult..” his eyes flickered over to Chris’s. “It’s a little overwhelming.”

“Hey.”

Jim paused in his walking to look at Chris, who nudged his shoulder. “You’re going to do just fine.”

He said it with such a conviction, like he utterly believed in what he was saying, that Jim couldn’t help but relax a bit. He smiled at Chris, who beamed back at him. Then, the two headed downstairs.

Once everything was finally loaded in the car, the three took the short drive to campus. They could’ve hauled everything over themselves, considering the close distance the apartment was to the dorms, but Jim had a few boxes and it would’ve been rather difficult still.

“So, where are you at again?” Chris asked once they parked the car near the buildings.

“Um… I’m in Phoenix Hall, 3rd floor,” Jim said after a moment of thought.

Chris nodded. “Pretty close to the center of campus, then, that’s good.”

The blonde nodded in return and followed Chris across campus.

Despite not having too many boxes to speak of, the crowds on campus from move in day made their journey just a bit harder. After a while, though, they did finally make it to Jim’s floor.

“Which room Jimmy Boy?” Chris asked over his shoulder as they walked slowly down the corridor in Phoenix Hall.

“Ahh… West Wing, room 318,” he told him and they changed direction again before finally reaching their destination.

“Oh! This looks nice,” Winona commented, setting her boxes down on one of the desks in the room.

Jim shrugged, rolling his shoulders as he put his boxes on the floor. “It’s a dorm. Nothing too special.”

“Do you know who your roommate is?” his mother asked, stepping closer to him. “Did you want to rearrange anything before we unpacked?”

Jim nodded. “Yes and no. Yes I know who my roommate is, we talked a bit before today. He seems nice enough, and no, I think this layout will be fine.”

Winona looked like she wanted to say more but Chris gave her a look which made her close her mouth. She nodded and patted Jim’s shoulder. “Alright, it’s just, I’m so happy for you honey,” she cooed softly.

“Mooommm,” Jim whined again.

Before the doting mother could say more, Chris clapped his hands loudly, causing both people to look at him. “Well, we should get unpacking then, shouldn’t we?”

“Yeah, yes right,” Winona said, nodding and smiling when Chris smiled at her. Jim couldn’t help but grin as well at their interaction before he ripped open one of his boxes and begin to tell them where he wanted things around the room.

Unpacking, overall, took about an hour or so. Chris and his mother stuck around for a while before Jim finally managed to convince his mom that he would survive the night on his own. She hugged him several times before finally walking out the door. Jim sighed once he shut in behind them, sitting down on his bed and looking around his room. There were a few campus activities going on that evening for new students, as well as some tomorrow, and then classes started the day after that. He had a lot he needed and wanted to do before classes start, but for now, before the responsibilities began, Jim just wanted to lay down and let it all sink in.

He’d worry about the rest later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. This chapter was kinda hard for me to write and I kept looking for betas and never really found one, yet, that's been able to have time or has really stuck with me. The next chapter will hopefully be up sooner but no promises now that my classes have started.


End file.
